If you are considering bankruptcy because of tax problems, then you will benefit from reading this article. Most people believe that taxes cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. This myth is not true. There are some technical rules that allow tax debts to be discharged in bankruptcy. If you meet each of the following requirements, then your taxes can be discharged.
The first requirement is that you have filed a legitimate tax return for the year in question. Second, the tax return must have been filed at least two years before you filed for bankruptcy. Third, the tax return was due at least three years before you file for bankruptcy. Finally, the IRS has not assessed your liability for the taxes within 240 days before you filed for bankruptcy.
The following example should make things more clear. Joe filed a tax return in Aug 2003 for the 2002 tax year. In Mar 2005, the IRS audits his 2002 tax return and assesses a tax debt of $10,000.
When an $8-billion company goes bankrupt, it’s tempting to find someone to blame — and all the more so when that company is headed by someone as rude, crass and personally unappealing as Sam Zell. Now the foundering media conglomerate’s bondholders are targeting Zell, along with the investment banks that enabled his massively leveraged buyout of Tribune, accusing them of committing a form of fraud. But do they have the wrong scapegoats?